Mind Power Development Academy...
Guan Tong was not all that surprised when he saw the notification on the website.
Mind Power was the key to clearing Apocalypse Rules challenges. Plenty of people had surely realized that, so improving it was of utmost importance.
Now that the Apocalypse Rules Countermeasure Research Office was preparing to establish a dedicated academy, it meant the authorities were determined to focus heavily on this.
The only question was how effective the academy model would be.
Guan Tong was not sure.
He felt this academy was more like an organization, one meant to gather people with high Mind Power together.
As for whether gathering them together could help individuals accelerate their development and raise their Mind Power Cap, that remained to be seen.
Guan Tong himself had no intention of joining. Ever since dropping out of high school, he had realized that he preferred being alone and free.
Closing the pop-up, Guan Tong continued reading the White Paper.
The two functions updated on the Personal Terminal had already been included in the new version of the White Paper.
What surprised Guan Tong was that the White Paper also contained detailed information on the three newly available items in the Ascension Shop.
[Bronze Grade Primary Weapon Crate]: After opening this chest, you may choose one weapon from a total of 32 cold weapons. According to tests conducted by professional personnel from the Countermeasure Research Institute, the selected cold weapon can be stored in and retrieved from a Storage Box at any time.
The material of this cold weapon is unknown. Its sharpness is comparable to that of manufactured weapons, and it showed no exceptional performance in striking tests.
[Bronze Grade Primary Medical Crate]: The Countermeasure Research Institute conducted a total of 21 opening experiments on this chest. Five yielded the same medical item, while the remaining 16 all yielded different medical items.
The medical item obtained five times was "Special Pain Relief Tablets." After taking them, the body would not feel any pain for two hours.
Other items included Quick-Acting Hemostatic Aerosol, Multi-functional Antidote Potion, Single-Person Scanner, Nerve Accelerator, and so on.
"This crate really can give quite a variety of things..."
Looking at the long list of medical items that could be obtained from the crate in the White Paper, Guan Tong felt that the Countermeasure Research Institute truly deserved to be called an official institution. They were certainly rich and generous.
Those 21 openings represented a total expenditure of 1,680 Ascension Coins. That was definitely not something one person could afford; it had to be funded by a large group.
As for whether those people had contributed willingly, that was unclear. Guan Tong knew he certainly would not want to spend 80 Ascension Coins just to provide a piece of experimental data.
Still, he admired them. Without their contributions, he would not have seen such valuable information. So if he had the chance in the future, he also wanted to contribute what he could for the public.
He continued reading, and the results of opening the food crate had also been included.
[Bronze Grade Basic Food Crate]: The Countermeasure Research Institute conducted a total of 12 opening experiments on this chest, and all 12 results were completely identical. It was preliminarily determined that this chest produced a fixed item.
This fixed item was called "All-Effect Survival Tablet." Medical analysis and testing showed that this food could provide approximately 24 hours' worth of energy, as well as the various nutrients and trace elements required by the human body.
"This is pretty good."
After reading the effects of the All-Effect Survival Tablet, Guan Tong's eyes lit up.
After all, one of many people's daily worries was what to eat, how much to eat, which nutrients they were getting too much of, which nutrients they were lacking, and how to eat in the most balanced and healthy way.
Some people could agonize over such questions until they became anxious, which said enough.
Now it was simple. Buy a Basic Food Box every day, open an All-Effect Survival Tablet, and eat it. There would be no need to worry about food or nutrition for the rest of the day.
The plan was practically perfect. Its only flaw was that he had no coins.
One Basic Food Box cost 20 Ascension Coins. Guan Tong only had 100 coins in total, and if he bought one every day, they would be gone in less than a week.
This thing feels like it'll become standard equipment for big shots someday, Guan Tong thought. If Ascension Coin production increases in the future, or if important people can collect coins through certain means, then buying an All-Effect Survival Tablet every day would be far more convenient than putting together three meals.
After reading the details of the three items, Guan Tong scrolled down and checked the information on the second Apocalypse Rule.
This time, the White Paper did not label any Hidden Rules, but it did include the suggestion, "Flexibly uncover Mind Power Artifacts to reduce the difficulty of the challenge." That was essentially what the Hidden Rule [Mind Wins] meant.
Interestingly, Guan Tong discovered that the White Paper had also included the top three results in the world.
When he saw the record, "World First, Shadow, time used: 14 seconds," Guan Tong felt a small burst of secret satisfaction.
"I wonder what Rule Three will be a month from now."
After closing the White Paper, Guan Tong thought to himself.
There was one month until Rule Three was released, and that time definitely had to be spent improving his Mind Power.
But the method of improvement had to change.
For the past twenty-odd days, Guan Tong had been tinkering with Shadow, conducting all kinds of experiments.
By now, he understood Shadow well enough. There probably would not be any new changes in the short term.
Then...
"It's time to open a new page."
Guan Tong took out the [Wordless Book] and opened it to the second blank inner page.
After he wrote the two characters "Guan Tong" on the first page, a shadow with the same build as him had appeared, one that could be controlled by his thoughts.
So what should he write on the second page?
Guan Tong stared at the blank page and pondered.
Another person's name? There was not much point...
Setting aside whether writing someone else's name would even work, even if it did, creating another Shadow would not mean much.
One Shadow was enough.
So what should he write?
After hesitating for a moment, Guan Tong shook his head. "There's no use overthinking it. I'll just write down whatever I want most right now."
So the question was, what did he want most right now?
Did that even need asking!
Guan Tong raised his pen, focused his mind, and brought it down.
Just as when he had written his own name before, a powerful resistance in the air appeared over the [Wordless Book], preventing him from writing.
With the experience he had gained from writing his name, Guan Tong skillfully mobilized his Mind Power and poured it in, resisting that force.
Before long, he smoothly wrote a small left-falling stroke.
The first stroke he had written last time, a dot, had been the first stroke of the character for "Guan."
This time, however, the small left-falling stroke was the first stroke of the character for "Ascension."
That was right. When Guan Tong asked himself what he wanted most right now, the first answer that sprang into his heart was three words: Ascension Coins!
Therefore, he was going to try writing the three words "Ascension Coins" on the second inner page of the [Wordless Book] within a month.
If he really could obtain Ascension Coins after finishing... Guan Tong did not even dare imagine how happy he would be.
And if he got nothing after writing them, that was fine too.
Writing in the [Wordless Book] consumed Mind Power anyway. Even in the worst case, he could raise his Mind Power Cap through the repeated process of consuming and recovering it.
There was no loss in giving it a try.
Before you continue